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Cherries
 We
have around 1200 cherry trees, including a young block planted in 2008 with two early varieties. Birds are a major pest in this block, but our local windy conditions make keeping a net over the block difficult. Most of
the trees were planted in around 1990, after the last big drought. We've supplemented them with another 200 planted in
2004 and 2005.
The older trees (right) are trained as traditional
vase-shaped trees. Our new plantings, however, are all being grown in a small multi-limbed bush system, to keep the trees smaller and therefore keep more of the fruit closer to the ground, which is well suited to pick your own.
Picking dates are approximate and can vary by a week
or more in any given year.
| Bing |
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One of the most common cherries grown in Australia and the USA.
Heart shaped. Dark red skin with firm, juicy, sweet flesh. Very versatile,
eats and stores well, but a bit susceptible to cracking in the rain.
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Picking Dates: 21 Dec to 5 Jan
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| Burgsdorf |
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Red, tend to be small, medium firm. Not a really strongly
flavoured cherry but they’re the first of the season,
so we forgive them! They hang extremely well and continue
to ripen and intensify in flavour for a few weeks.
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Picking Dates: 15 to 22 Nov
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| Early Burlat |
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A large red cherry which came from Morocco in the 1930s. An excellent early cherry with very good flavour.
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Picking Dates: 20 to 30 November
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| Empress |
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A dark, medium-sized early cherry, with a fresh sweet flavour.
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Picking Dates: 20 to 30 November
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| Lambert |
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Red, tend to be large, medium firm. Heart shaped, good
flavour. Stems fall off easily. A bit prone to cracking
but a firm favourite.
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Picking Dates: 19 Dec to 10 Jan
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| Lapins |
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Large heart shaped cherry. Best picked when dark red, Lapins
are very juicy with firm flesh and good flavour. A great
split-resistant cherry.
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Picking Dates: 19 Dec to 10 Jan
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| Lewis
Seedling |
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Red, medium to large cherry with very long stems. Great
flavour, doesn’t split in the rain too easily. One
of our favourites.
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Picking Dates: 28 Nov to 14 Dec
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| Merchant |
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Large, dark red, heart shaped cherry. Excellent sweet flavour,
not as firm as Supreme. Hangs well (and improves in flavour)
on the tree, and also stores well.
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Picking Dates: late Nov
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| Rainier |
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White flesh cherry with pinky red skin over a white background.
Can pick over several weeks, with flavour continuing
to develop and intensify. Wonderful honey flavour, particularly
when allowed to completely ripen on the tree. The fruit
bruises very easily, but will store well if handled properly.
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Picking Dates: 12 to 31 Dec
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| Ron's
Seedling |
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Fabulous all-round cherry. Dark red to almost black when
fully ripe. Strong, sweet flavour. The short stems make
it a favourite with pickers and firm flesh a favourite with
cooks, as it the best cherry for bottling, jam or any preserving.
Slightly prone to splitting in the rain due to its
relatively tough skin.
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Picking Dates: 5 to 25 Dec
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| Sam |
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A wonderful black cherry, but not a strong cropper. Distinctive
tart flavour (though not a true sour cherry) that develops
into an intense flavour when allowed to properly ripen.
The gourmand’s cherry. Our cherry of choice for the
Christmas table (along with Rainier), and for brandied cherries
or pickled cherries. A big, meaty cherry that has the added
bonus of not being prone to cracking.
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Picking Dates: 12 to 31 Dec
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| Stella |
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A medium-large dark red cherry. It's a heart-shaped cherry which ripens later in the season, in good time for Christmas.
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Picking Dates: 12 to 25 December
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| Supreme |
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Dark, firm and large. Distinctively heart shaped. Delicious
cherry and good for bottling because so firm, but tragically
inclined to crack in the rain (or heavy dew). (Don’t
spit near the trees!) Good for jam as well because relatively
easy to get the stone out.
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Picking Dates: 28 Nov to 12 Dec
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| Van |
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Medium to large, though a tendency to overcrop can reduce
fruit size some years. Slightly flattened shape, nice firm
consistency. Excellent flavour, very sweet.
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Picking Dates: 15 to 30 Dec
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| Venus |
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Medium to large, luscious cherries with excellent sweet
flavour. Best harvested when red rather than dark red and
eaten straight away as they don’t store well and tend
to go soft. Can split in the rain.
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Picking Dates: 7 to 20 Dec
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